Aperture Turret
by BellaZelda8
Summary: Turret's aren't what they seem...


Aperture Turret

It's almost time. Soon, I will switch from my clock to my laser, and bloodshed will begin. That is my 'life'. Sleep-mode on, I see a black screen with a clock. Sleep-mode off, I am relentlessly murdering every test subject that is too ignorant to look before passing that last corner. And I don't even want to do it. I'm being controlled. I am a Turret.

Sleep-mode activated, I get some peace, although it's a tiny shred, because I could be switched on at any moment. I hate her. I hate being woken from my peaceful sleep, where I'm free of any violence, where I can dream of hopes of never waking up and staying in the soft darkness forever…

I am a puppet. I was created in a factory, and then shipped here to Aperture Science. My hard drive was overloaded, and a bigger android than me gained control. Now she can press one button that sends me into murder mode. One command, one flick of her mechanical wrist, and I'm turned on, laser pointed, awaiting the next test subject to come along. Once a human stumbles into full view of me, I have no choice. Shoot. Kill. Few humans have passed us, and those who do soon die later.

If I could, I would shoot her. GLaDOS. The one in charge of us all. Watching us with her cameras to make sure everything goes smoothly, that the test subjects die, that we don't. Occasionally, test subjects will get past us, to the very end, about to receive the promised prize, but then get burnt to a crisp. All people who come up as test subjects enter into a death trap. Oh, the prizes and the catchy song on the Aperture Radio channel seem all great and fun, and then receiving your first portal gun seems like a huge achievement, but really, it means nothing in the end. In here, nothing matters anymore. You die, and then it's over.

"Hello?" My automatic voice starts. Away goes the darkness, and I can see shadows of a test subject. With the strength of my mind, I try as hard as I can to shut off. Let me short-circuit, and die right now! Is Android Hell a real place? I wonder what it's like. Suddenly, the test subject darts in front of me. "Target acquired". The look of surprise comes over her face, and before her green eyes can register what's about to happen, she's dead. Her blood… "Shutting down." I fade back into my thought world.

I wish I could cry. When test subjects go mad, which happens often, they wail about how crying is supposed to make them feel better. I wonder what the truth is. Is it mad ramblings? Or will crying really transport you to a world without worries? Maybe we kill them faster than their tears can save their feelings. No one will save me, no one kills the killer. If I could cry, I would do it, and no one would be waiting around to end the crying process, no one would interrupt the savior of tears. But I can't cry. My mind can make sad thoughts, but I can't make sad sounds. Only when dying do turrets make upset sounds. I've never made them. Maybe my past self has. When turrets die, we either go to android hell, or are reborn. When reborn, we remember nothing about out past lives…

"Sentry mode activated." I turn on. There's a human around the corner. I want to cry out something, but it may or may not discourage them from making a plan. You never really know with the humans. Some of them are so terrified, they come running into your laser beam, arms outstretched, with a look of hope on their face, as if they were running into the arms of their hero. Some, though, are stealthy. Some figure out how to avoid me, using their clever portal device, and avoid my rapid fire. And then others who are just dumb and scared. They peer around the corner, gasp at me, and then attempt to dodge my bullets. But, to no avail. They die.

The one in front of me is smart. He's trying to figure out the smartest way to keep going, to get on with it. I study the dead girl in front of me. Blond hair in a pony-tail, skinny. Her orange jump-suit fits well, and she has a pretty face. Her now soul-less green eyes were once beautiful, before they saw death. Lying awkwardly on her back, the blood hasn't really dripped onto the floor yet. "I see you," my automated voice says, and I turn my eyes back into the direction of the boy in front of me. He's smart. His portal is on the wall across from him, and I hear a portal open behind me. If he's fast, he'll be in front of me for less than a second. Unfortunately, that gives me enough time. "Could you come over here?" I call. And then…

He gets hit in the leg, but it doesn't deter him. He's gone through, and I hear him grunt as he lands behind me. "Target lost." If I could speak with any emotion, relief would be drenching those 2 words. Oh, how I wish for freedom. I think I'm even more miserable than the test subjects. I fade back into my comforting darkness, longing for a rest from murdering.

It's been 8 years since the last death. Test subjects are getting smarter. Maybe one got out and leaked the place. Maybe humans are breeding smarter. I don't know. But I am loving it. Hearing the edge in GLaDOS' voice during announcements is probably the most… satisfactory thing ever.

It's been 40 years. I haven't killed anyone, and its been 17 years since I've seen the white light of the testing areas. I'm growing tired of my darkness. It is no longer soft. Its just… boring. I have no more stimulation. All my thoughts have run out. I've dwelled and pondered and speculated everything I know, over and over and over. It's all old. There's no new. I find myself longing to shoot something.

65 years. Now I'm angry. I'm bored, I've been in the darkness. I will never die until killed. And there have been no test subjects to come along and to shoot at. Bored, bored, bored. I can't even talk. I can't do anything. I stand here, hibernating.

I am done. I sink into myself. "Shutting down…"

"Helloo?" I call. I awake. My red laser is pointing forward. Yes! Yes! Come, test subjects! Come and die! I need to see the horrid look on another face, to spill more blood. This test subject is an ugly one. Bam, bam, bam! I shoot him dead. "Critical error…" I fade back into black.

That felt very satisfactory.

I crave more.

Bam. Bam. Bam! They all die! No test subject gets by me! If only I could voice my thoughts, I would laugh. And laugh. And laugh. Die, ignorant humans.

I've killed 32 humans in the past year. Life as a Turret is good. I enjoy the bloodshed. I enjoy the screams. Watching the humans decay… and then somehow the skeletons always disappear after two or three sleep-modes. That's good for me, because all those skeletons piling up would eventually get to too much.

Hm hm hm hm hm hmm… I hum in my mind to the Aperture Radio channel, to the only song played. I wish I could shoot in rhythm with the song… I can't control my own bullets. Never mind. Killing is still a joy…

I can't do this. Not anymore. I don't want to be a Turret. I don't like this pattern. GLaDOS has the upper hand. She has control, she knows it, she knows I know it, and there's nothing I can do about it. She makes us kill, then shuts us down. We get bored with ourselves, and when we are able to wake up, we kill with glee. And then we grow tired of it… over and over and over.

I wish I were a core. Core's actually have jobs. They can move on rails. Some are useless, some actually prove a purpose, but at least they have various jobs to do. And they don't kill. I think…

"Ow, ow ow ow oww," echoes down the halls. What? "Critical error…" "Hey, it's me!" "Don't shoot!" It's like a whole chorus of Turret deaths, echoing throughout the whole facility. What's happening? Is GLaDOS bored? Did some core go rogue? A smart test subject? No, no, it couldn't be a test subject. Not possible. Not. Possible.

The song of death continues. Is this my lucky break? Will I die? Do I want to die?

I evaluate my life. It's been terrible. I want to kill, and I do, and then I grow bored and depressed. Then forced into darkness. And that's how it is forever. Do I want it to end though? Right this second, do I wish to go to Android Hell? It could be nice. Or I could burn for eternity.

But for once, I'll be the one dying, not the human.

What have I done with my robot life? I was made in a factory. I was put here. I have killed. I have dreamed Turret dreams. I have killed. I have killed with mourning, I have killed with glee. 98% killing… the other 2% in the darkness.

Only 2%... 2. Percent. Not killing people. Human beings who live… breathe… I never even thought they had… families? A family? I don't know how that feels. I don't… I don't know how… anything happens. I don't have a family… I have no friends. I can't cry, I can't smile. I can kill. I can take away innocent lives. Maybe they belong to be here, maybe they don't. Maybe they deserve this...maybe they don't. But they can do whatever they want outside of Aperture. Scream, cry, laugh…I can't.

"Searching…" My eyes open. My laser points forward. A portal opens behind me, and then the wall across from the test subject. "Hello?" I call. She darts in front of me, and the bullets fly. She doesn't even get hit, and I hear her softly land behind me. I sigh inside. Maybe she'll make it to the incinerator…maybe she won't burn. Maybe she'll get out, and expose this place. Maybe she'll be the end of us all… maybe-

"Put me down!" I hear myself screech. What? What!? My bullets start to fly, and my legs are shaking like crazy. I'm in the air! I'm in the air! "Hey!" I shout. And I'm flying through a portal. Flying, flying, flying! Crash! "Critical error…" I'm on my side. I watch the girl run away from me, her portal gun expertly in front of her. "Shutting…down…" I fade to black. Am I dying? I'm not dead. I can still think. I can't see, but I am still on my side. I can think. Suddenly, pain. "AAaaahhhhh!"

"Goodbye"


End file.
